The Hoboken September 11th Memorial Fund announced Thursday that 10 teams have been chosen from among some of the most talented artists and designers in the New York area to submit detailed proposals for a Sept. 11th memorial that will be built on Pier A Park in Hoboken.
According to the fund’s officials, the finalists were chosen by a professional jury empanelled by the Memorial Fund, an organization comprised of city officials, community volunteers, and surviving family members that is charged with raising funds and overseeing the construction of a permanent memorial on Hoboken’s waterfront in honor of the city residents lost on 9/11.
Hoboken Mayor David Roberts said last week that the announcement of the finalists is an important step on the way to erecting a permanent memorial in Hoboken.
“We are gratified that we reached this important milestone along this solemn journey,” said Roberts. “I would like to thank everyone involved in this process for their hard work and dedication. Sept. 11 was a painful day for Hoboken and our nation. This memorial is a very important element in the healing process and a lasting monument to the friends and loved ones we lost.”
Memorial Fund Co-Chair Rick Evans said that Hoboken has undertaken a process that is sensitive, careful and deliberate so that the city will have a world-class memorial that will be around for generations to come.
“As we look back on two years since Sept. 11, 2001, we also look forward to the day that we will dedicate a permanent, life-affirming memorial on Hoboken’s waterfront park, Pier A Park, in honor of the friends and loved ones we lost,” said Evans. “With the selection of these highly talented artists and designers, we are a very significant step closer to achieving that goal.”
The finalists
The semi-finalists were selected through a professional juried design competition organized by Buff Suzanne Kavelman, the director of the Smithsonian’s National Design Awards at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Kavelman joined the Memorial Fund in 2003 to oversee the design competition phase of the memorial process.
Sitting on the professional jury were Emma Amos, artist and professor at Rutgers University; Henry Arnold, landscape architect; Anne Buttenwieser, waterfront planning expert and adjunct professor at Barnard College and Columbia University; Ray Gastil, executive director of the Van Alen Institute; Donald Genaro, industrial designer and retired partner of Henry Dreyfuss Associates; Monica Ponce de Leon, an Boston-based architect, and Trevor Smith, the curator at the New Museum of Contemporary Art.
The credentials of all of the finalists are impressive: one was a co-founder of one of the firms competing to re-develop the World Trade Center; another’s work has been included in major collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. One has created the first waterfront plaza at Battery Park City/ World Financial Center, while another recently won a sculpture competition for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
While all the groups are based locally, most have decade’s worth of experience working globally on some of the most sought-after locations.
“We are very fortunate to have had such a wide universe of impressive candidates who have chosen to be a part of this memorial process,” said Kavelman. “I would like to commend our jury members for their thoughtful and thorough review. Thanks to their insight and to the visionary work put forward by these many talented artists and designers, the City of Hoboken will most certainly erect a permanent memorial that honors the memories of its lost residents.”
The next step
“We congratulate the extraordinary 10 semi-finalists and look forward with great anticipation to the results of the next phase of the competition,” said Memorial Fund Co-Chair Lisa Frigand.
The announcement of the competition semi-finalists follows a series of important milestones. Next, the semi-finalists will be asked to submit developed conceptual drawings and models for consideration by the jury. Within the next several months the group of 10 will be reduced to three. And shortly after that time, the Fund Committee will select the winner.
Fundraising
In addition to raising more than $30,000 through a grassroots mailing and community fundraisers, the Memorial Fund recently received a $500,000 state grant thanks to the efforts of State Sen. Bernard F. Kenny Jr.
For more information about the Hoboken September 11th Memorial Fund, to make a donation, or to register for e-mail updates, log on to the Hoboken September 11th Memorial Fund’s web site at www.hoboken911.com. The finalists
(To learn more about their credentials, contact City Hall.)
Della Valle + Bernheimer Design
dZO (Degre Zero Architecture)
The design team of Jackie Ferrara and M. Paul Friedberg
The FLOW Group
Architect Mehrdad Hadighi
Ralph Lerner FAIA, architect, and Kate Orff
The design team of Jody Pinto and Morris Sato Studio
Architect Frederic Schwartz and artist Brian Tolle
Alison Sky
Polish-born artist Krzysztof Wodiczko